


a beat of silence

by gayprophets



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Catching Up, M/M, Script Format, mentions of the admiral being a very happy boy :), post s5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26104561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayprophets/pseuds/gayprophets
Summary: Basira: Mm. [another beat, this one longer, tense] You know he’s not listening, right? Whatever’s still got an ear to those things isn’t him.Martin: It could be.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 18
Kudos: 135





	a beat of silence

**Author's Note:**

> wrote this before s5 started and rediscovered it while doing a writing ask meme. here you go!

_ [soft click and hiss of a tape recorder turning on, sounds of pen scratching softly over paper, quiet breaths, then -] _

Martin: Oh! Hello.  _ [a soft huff, not quite a laugh] _ Decided to check in, huh? Let me finish my sentence.  _ [writing again, quicker, an almost vicious sounding jab of a full stop] _ There. Sorry. Didn’t want to lose my thought, you know how I get. Can never just  _ [doing an impression, faintly mocking] _ ‘remember it and pick it up later, Martin, we’re going to be late’, as annoying as I know it is. Never can remember how the words were supposed to go. Feels like I left the actual poem behind.  _ [beat of silence] _ Not-not that this is anything of importance. Bit of fluff, really. Not going anywhere, kind of just…  _ [deep sigh] _ dull. Nothing worth reading to you, anyways. Hard to write anything good, these days. You know, they say that tragedy breeds "great art", and that personal trauma’s "good for your poetry", but that just- I’ve never found it to be true. For me, anyways. Dunno about everybody else, but it just makes everything… I can’t write. It all comes out just… just a bit flat, really. Nothing to it.

Martin: Sorry. Shouldn’t complain, that’s not-  _ [chuckles] _ not really the impression I want to give. How are you doing?  _ [a half seconds pause, almost a verbal stumble] _ I’m doing okay, honestly. A bit lonely- not, don’t freak out, just, regular old lonely. It’s quiet. I don’t think I… I don’t think I know how to exist quietly anymore. It’s fine, though. Just… an adjustment period.

Martin: The Admiral’s doing well. You should see him. Georgie’s new flat- well, mine too, technically, because I live here, but it’s not- it's temporary, I just wasn't sure how I'd be on- on my own at first- I'd move if you- I'm going to move- ugh. _A_ _ nyways, _ the new place has a radiator that’s directly under a window that gets full sun practically all day. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a happier animal. You know, I always say I’m a dog person, but he’s pretty good too. Always comes and cuddles with me when Melanie and Georgie lock him out. Very sweet. They’re doing good too- they got engaged a week ago. Gonna get married this autumn. You know, I almost said something like “well, it’s about time” when they told me, but it really, really hasn’t. Like, barely a year. Isn’t that insane? It feels like so much longer. Lifetimes. 

Martin: It’s coming up on summer now, if you didn’t know. I’ve been thinking about trying to set up a window box, maybe get some fresh herbs growing? I think that sounds nice, right? We don’t have a yard or anything, so that’ll have -  _ [a knock on a door] _ Yeah?

Basira: Hey. Georgie, Melanie and I are heading to the park, if you’d like to come with. Melanie wants gelato, figured we’d walk around a bit.

Martin: I- ah, no thanks. I’ll stay. Someone’s got to keep the Admiral company, after all.  _ [forced chuckle] _

Basira: …Right.  _ [a beat of silence] _ Were you… recording poetry?

Martin: uh - no, actually. This one just kind of… yeah.

Basira: Mm.  _ [another beat, this one longer, tense] _ You know he’s not listening, right? Whatever’s still got an ear to those things isn’t him.

Martin: It could be.

Basira: But it’s not. Look, I’m trying to be sympathetic, but it’s not like this is healthy. You’ve got to try to heal, move on, because you’re feeding  _ some _ sort of delusion here and it’s -

Martin:  _ [tense, snappish] _ Not all of us are as adept at just  _ getting over _ things, Basira.

_ [a pause where both of them seem to be waiting for the other, and themselves, to apologize. A door creaks closed, shuts with a click.] _

Martin:  _ [clearly irritated, upset] _ Right. Of course. God.  _ [silence] _

Martin: Well. It was nice to hear from you. I... I miss you. I hope you come home.

_ [tape clicks off] _

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr at themlet. have a great day!


End file.
